Buying brake pads

[bonanzadave]

BUYING BRAKE PADS

Shopping for pads and saw this on the Dennis Kirk web site.

NOTE: NEVER USE SINTERED BRAKE PADS IN BIKES ORIGINALLY EQUIPPED WITH NON-SINTERED BRAKE PADS. Check your owners manual to see if sintered metal brakes were OEM equipment on your motorcycle.

Not sure what that means so I thought Id ask. I believe I have organic EBCs on there now but DK don't show they have them.

Any better source for pads ?​

 

[Nessism]

Sintered pads are abrasive, and will tear up old style GS brake rotors. Some feel the improved braking performance, particularly in the wet, are worth the tradeoff.

My personal favorite pads are Ferodo Platinum. Some people claim they are somewhat tough on rotors, but I'm happy with the compromise.

 

[bwringer]

You can't really accidentally buy sintered pads for a GS... they are out there, or were at one time, and they do work great, but your front wheel will quickly be covered in glitter that used to be your rotors. IIRC, the Ferodo Platinums were sintered and had this effect. I don't think they're still available, or they weren't last time I looked. Great stoppers, that's for sure.

My GS go-to pads these days are the EBC red "V" pads, supposedly a "semi-sintered" material (FA51V for my GS). They don't seem to tear up the rotors nearly as much, but they do cause some noticeable rotor wear. I have a few spare sets of rotors on hand and the GS doesn't get a ton of miles these days, so I'm happy with them and prefer the slightly better performance.

The EBC black organics (FA51 for my GS) are great in all conditions and generally don't cause much rotor wear at all. They're my usual recommendation.

Avoid the cheap Chinese brake pads sold everywhere under various doofy brand names and house names like Bikemaster, Emgo, Tusk, etc. Dangerous junk, all of them. Stick with name brands like EBC, Galfer, SBS, etc.

 

[Nessism]

IIRC, the Ferodo Platinums were sintered and had this effect. I don't think they're still available, or they weren't last time I looked. Great stoppers, that's for sure.

Hi Brian,

This cut and paste, or similar, is widely shared on the internet in regards to Ferodo Platinum pads

Ferodo Platinum Front Brake Pads


Ferodo Platinum Organic Brake Pads feature a proprietary carbon grip compound that utilizes the same technology pioneered in Ferodo's extensive world racing program. When developing the Platinum compound, great care was taken to minimize rotor wear and to ensure performance remains consistent through the life of the pad. Organic pads are often selected thanks to their excellent modulation characteristics and will often run quieter than their sintered counterparts. Features:

• High friction level offered in an organic compound
• Excellent modulation characteristics
• Low disc wear when compared to sintered compounds
• Consistent performance throughout the life of the pad
• Suitable for use on ABS equipped motorcycles

​
Edit: is from Ferodo's motorcycle website. They denote the Platinum compound "mid metallic". I should imagine, they may wear the rotors more than a pure organic compound. They are not classified as sintered, though.

 

[bwringer]

Thanks for the correction, Ed!

I do know that the Ferodo platinums I tried worked fantabulously well, but they did indeed cause visible rotor wear on my GS850G. So it makes sense that they're somewhere in the middle and not fully sintered.

You can find leftover stock of the Ferodo FDB218 (cross-reference to EBC's FA51 designation used on my GS and many other 1980+ models) here and there, but it's not clear whether they're still making them. Or maybe the supply trickling in from Italy is just that small and sporadic.

 

[Nessism]

From info I can find, Ferodo discontinued the pure organic compound. Within their part numbering system, the "Material Suffix Code" is at the end of the standard size part number. So, FDB218P, would be the Platinum version of that pad you found. A quick check on ebay shows that the organic pads are hard to find. For that matter, the Platinum compound can also be.

 

[bonanzadave]

Tom has supplied the link for EBC organics. Brakecrafters in AZ.

$33.85 For a pair

I just got a couple from Brakecrafters, they appear correct. $5.25 each, $5.00 for 2 day Fedex, not bad.

https://brakecrafters.com/products/...aliper-shaft-boot?_pos=1&_sid=a038e48d9&_ss=r

​

 

[grcamna2]

I have a pr. of Ferodo rear brake shoes in one of my bikes;for the size of those shoes,they stop excellent.
I also sent the rear hub from this bike over to a machinist who replaced my cast iron drum brake liner,effectively giving me a new brake surface.
He used a hard cylinder sleeve which can take a good amount of wear.

I just found a set of FDB218 & FDB218P front pads for my GS on Ebay & ordered both.
The bike came to me with some fresh AHL cheap china front pads and a very previously worn-out(Deeply grooved)front rotor;purchased a better rotor and sent it to 'True disk LLC' in MI. :encouragement: The new AHL pads were already 'grooving' my fresh rotor
Thanks for the recommend bwringer and Nessism.